Tamilnadu Politics

The ruling AIADMK on March 17 released the list of constituencies to be contested by the party along with its allies for the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and the lone seat for the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Much as actor Rajinikanth tries to cover up his BJP tag, the issue keeps cropping up every now and then, blocking the growth of his political party. His statement a few days ago indirectly praising PM Narendra Modi is the latest in the saga of the actor taking one step forward but two steps back while trying to build an independent party in Tamil Nadu.

The much-touted rally of Muthuvel Karunanidhi’s ostracized son M K Alagiri in Chennai on September 5 has been a failure of sorts as he failed to attract any DMK functionary of note, with the party showing it is solidly behind his brother M K Stalin. However, in the eclipse of Alagiri, lies another story of the DMK being left without a strong southern satrap or star.

Tamil Nadu, already earning a notorious tag for its efforts to put down dissent especially against the BJP, blotted its copybook further with the arrest of a 28-year-old research scholar from Canada, Lois Sofia, for shouting, “down with Modi, BJP-RSS fascist government,” towards the end of a Chennai-Thoothukudi flight when TN BJP president Tamilisai Soundarajan crossed her.

The newly-elected president of the DMK, M K Stalin will not be as towering a personality as Muthuvel Karunanidhi. However, he will be seen as a more inclusive leader than his father. Stalin doesn’t believe in berating those who have faith in God and religion, especially Hinduism, which practice antagonized several sections of society and alienated them from the DMK.

Chennai Police detained over 50 PMK members when they attempted to lay siege to the BJP office at T Nagar in Chennai on June 25, 2018, to condemn its state president Tamilisai Soundararajan’s criticism of their party leader and founder Dr S Ramadoss.

The president of the DMK and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M Karunanidhi, was readmitted to the Kauvery Hospital in Chennai on Thursday night following breathing difficulty due to heavy cold and lung infection. The 92-year-old leader underwent a tracheostomy procedure to optimise breathing, the Kauvery Hospital stated.

DMK president M Karunanidhi on February 14 virtually closed the door for estranged son and Madurai strongman K S Alagiri and said the former Union Minister who has been suspended from the party was in no way connected with the DMK.

A special court for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases here on Jan 29 convicted and sentenced five persons to various terms of imprisonment and slapped a total fine of Rs. 1.65 crore, over three decades after the Robin Mayne scandal came to light.

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko has said that the People Welfare Front (PWF) was going up in popularity and would emerge as a leading front in the 2016 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

The Tamil Nadu unit of BJP, which was desperately wooing actor Rajinikanth with a view to rope him into the party, received a massive jolt when he sent AIADMK supremo a warm and personal greeting on her release from Bengaluru prison and return to her Chennai residence.

Former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's bail plea will be heard by the Karnataka high court only on October 7. A Special Sitting of the Karnataka High Court took up the urgent bail plea moved by advocates of the AIADMK supremo on Wednesday. However, Vacation judge Justice Rathnakala said that this matter has to be heard by a regular bench.

The AIADMK legislature party will meet in Chennai at 3 p.m. on September 28, 2014, to elect its new leader who would immediately thereafter be appointed as chief minister by the State Governor. If all goes well, the swearing in of the new CM itself could take place later on Sunday evening or Monday morning so as to prevent a vacuum in the State.